Yemen Control Map & Report: Collapse of Separatist Control - Feb. 8, 2025 (Subscription)

SUBSCRIBERS CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL ARTICLE AND MAP:
Old Portal (members.polgeonow.com) | New Portal (controlmaps.polgeonow.com)

(To see other maps in this series, view all Yemen articles on PolGeoNow.) 

Map and timeline by Djordje Djukic and Evan Centanni.

Subscribe Now! Subscribe for full access to all conflict map reports!

Just weeks after Yemen's separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) swept victoriously across the country's eastern provinces, the tables turned dramatically. With their foreign backer, the United Arab Emirates, agreeing to withdraw from Yemen under pressure from Saudi Arabia, the separatists were forced in the first days of 2026 to beat a hasty retreat, even from parts of the southwest that they'd controlled for years prior.

Though the leaders of Yemen's Saudi-backed internationally-recognized government remain in exile in Riyadh, forces loyal to them now dominate most of southern and eastern Yemen. This newfound unity raises the prospect of a return to all-out war with the internationally-unrecognized "Houthi" government, which still governs more than half the country's population from its headquarters in official national capital Sana'a. Meanwhile, STC holdouts have withdrawn to their bastions of greatest support, and the local Al Qaeda chapter is flexing its muscles in some remote areas of the country.

This map and report are premium content available to paid subscribers of the PolGeoNow Conflict Mapping Service.

Want to see before you buy? Check out our most recent FREE SAMPLE Yemen map report!

Exclusive report includes:

• Up-to-date map of territorial control in the Yemeni Civil War, color-coded for the internationally-recognized government (IRG) and allies, led by the Saudi Arabia-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) and including Islah, the Yemeni Emergency Forces, and the National/Homeland Shield Force, and now the Southern Giants Brigades; remaining holdouts of the UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC); forces of the unrecognized "Houthi" government; and estimated area of presence of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) 
• Detailed indication of town-by-town control, including provincial boundaries, all major cities, and many smaller locations
• Markers for places recently appearing in the news, including Seiyun, Khasha'a, Rumah, Adwas, Houta, the Socotra Airport, and many more
• Concise, beginner-friendly summary of the current situation and key events from the end of 2025 to present, covering the entire period of the STC retreat and beyond
• Detailed timeline of changes to control and other major events since December 30, 2025, with links to sources

SUBSCRIBERS CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL ARTICLE AND MAP:
Old Portal (members.polgeonow.com) | New Portal (controlmaps.polgeonow.com)

Not a member yet? Click here to learn more about our professional subscription service!

Can I purchase just this map?
This map and report are not available for automated purchase to non-subscribers. If you need access or republication rights for only this map report, contact service@polgeonow.com for options.

How Many Countries Are There in the World in 2026?

This article, originally from 2011, has been revised and updated to January 2026. You can view older versions of the article in our archives. Since last year's update, Somaliland has become a "state with at least partial recognition", after previously being only a "de facto sovereign state".

A world political map published by the US government.

One of the most basic questions for many map-lovers is "How many countries are there in the world?" But anyone who just gives you a simple number isn't telling the whole truth. It actually depends a lot on how you define a "country". Here are six of the most common answers, each correct in its own way:

Yemen Control Map & Report: Height of Southern Separatist Control - Dec. 30, 2025 (Subscription)

SUBSCRIBERS CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL ARTICLE AND MAP:
Old Portal (members.polgeonow.com) | New Portal (controlmaps.polgeonow.com)

There are newer versions of this map available. To see them, view all Yemen articles on PolGeoNow.

Map and timeline by Djordje Djukic and Evan Centanni.

Subscribe Now! Subscribe for full access to all conflict map reports!

Yemen's separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) recently upended more than two years of territorial stability in Yemen's simmering civil war, sweeping across the east in a matter of days and nearly completing its control of all territories once governed by independent South Yemen. 

This map shows Yemen at the height of STC control near the end of 2025, while the similarly-massive reversals of early 2026 will be covered in a later edition. 

Included in this report is a timeline chronicling key conflict events in the years since our March 2023 Yemen control map report, including the 2023-2025 war waged by northern Yemen's internationally-unrecognized "Houthi" government against Israel and the US.

This map and report are premium content available to paid subscribers of the PolGeoNow Conflict Mapping Service.

Want to see before you buy? Check out our most recent FREE SAMPLE Yemen map report!

Exclusive report includes:

• Up-to-date map of territorial control in the Yemeni Civil War, color-coded for the UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) and allies; Saudi-aligned factions of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) government (includes Islah and National/Homeland Shield Force); forces of the unrecognized "Houthi" government; and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) 
• Detailed indication of town-by-town control, including provincial boundaries, all major cities, and many smaller locations
• Markers for places recently appearing in the news, including Seiyun, Tarim, the PetroMasila oil facilities, and Khasha'a in Hadramawt province; Nishtun, Ghaydah, and Shahan in Mahra province; Perim Island and Ras Issa on the Red Sea; and many more
• Concise, beginner-friendly summary of the current situation and key events and trends from mid-2023 to almost the end of 2025
• Detailed timeline of changes to control and other major events since March 6, 2023, with links to sources. Includes extensive coverage the Houthis' conflict with Israel, the US, and the UK.

SUBSCRIBERS CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL ARTICLE AND MAP:
Old Portal (members.polgeonow.com) | New Portal (controlmaps.polgeonow.com)

Not a member yet? Click here to learn more about our professional subscription service!

Can I purchase just this map?
This map and report are not available for automated purchase to non-subscribers. If you need access or republication rights for only this map report, contact service@polgeonow.com for options.

Israel / Palestine Catchup: Map of Control Just Before Lebanon Ceasefire - Nov. 26, 2024 (Subscription)

PolGeoNow's series of control maps for the Israel/Palestine area is back after a one-year hiatus. We've prepared a group of reports mapping the situation at important points up to today, and will be publishing them one at a time with the idea of catching up over a relatively short period.  

SUBSCRIBERS CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL ARTICLE AND MAP:
Old Portal (members.polgeonow.com) | New Portal (controlmaps.polgeonow.com)

(To see more maps in this series, view all Israel articles or Palestine articles on PolGeoNow.)

Map by Evan Centanni, timeline by Djordje Djukic with Evan Centanni

Subscribe Now! Subscribe for full access to all conflict map reports!

One year ago, Israel's invasion of neighboring Lebanon was roughly at its peak, just before a ceasefire with Lebanese group Hezbollah that would lead the Israeli troops to gradually withdraw from most of the areas they had advanced into. 

Meanwhile, Israeli operations would continue in the Gaza Strip, with the siege of Jabalia and neighboring towns, while both Israeli and Palestinian operations would target Hamas-allied militias in the West Bank.

See all this and more in the latest update to PolGeoNow's widely-acclaimed map of territorial administration in the Israel/Palestine area. In addition to the updated map, the report also includes a detailed chronicle of changes and events since October 6, 2024, the date illustrated by our previous Israel/Palestine control map.

This map and report are premium content, available to paid subscribers of the PolGeoNow Conflict Mapping Service.

Want to see before you subscribe? Check out our most recent FREE SAMPLE Israel/Palestine map report!

Exclusive map report includes:

• Up-to-date illustration of current territorial control across all areas claimed by either Israel or Palestine, including Hamas and Israeli military control in the Gaza Strip (not in extreme detail), as well as UN peacekeeper deployments just outside the region and areas of Israeli operations within Lebanon during war against Hezbollah
• Closer-up inset map showing the divisions in the West Bank: Israeli military control ("Area C", including Israeli settlements), PLO-affiliated (Fatah) Palestinian jurisdiction ("Area A"), zones of shared administration ("Area B"), and the (annexed) area of Israeli civilian control in East Jerusalem
• Lines illustrating the pre-1967 ceasefire boundaries separating Israel proper from the Palestinian-claimed Gaza Strip and West Bank, as well as the Syria-claimed Golan Heights
  
• Labels for contentious areas, like the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Golan Heights, Shebaa Farms, and "no man's land"
• Illustration of which parts of Israel proper are subject to the greatest restrictions by military decree under current war powers: the "Gaza Envelope" in the south and the "Confrontation Line" in the north, and now much of northern Israel and the Golan Heights.
  
• Detailed indication of city-by-city control, including key towns and other locations important to current events, including in the West Bank and contested towns across the border in Lebanon
• Locations of recent control changes and other important events, including Jabalia, Yaroun, Alma El Chaab, Tubas, Nur Shams, Tammun, Madama, Dura, Al-Khader, and more, as well as the so-called Philadelphi Corridor and Netzarim Corridor in the Gaza Strip
  
• Detailed timeline of important events and changes to territorial control since October 6, 2024, with links to sources.

SUBSCRIBERS CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL ARTICLE AND MAP:
Old Portal (members.polgeonow.com) | New Portal (controlmaps.polgeonow.com)

Not signed up yet? Click here to learn more about our professional subscription service!

Can I purchase just this map?
This map and report are not available for automated purchase to non-subscribers. If you need access or republication rights for only this map report, contact service@polgeonow.com for options.

2020-2025 Expansion of Europe's Free-travel "Schengen Area" (And What's Next)

This is an article for those interested in what's changed in the map of the Schengen Area since our previous update in 2020. From now on, you can always find the latest version of this map in our Schengen zone explainer article.

Three southeastern European countries - Croatia, Romania, and Bulgaria - have joined the Schengen Area in recent years. 
Map by Evan Centanni, from blank map by Ssolbergj. License: CC BY-SA